The Unique Princess 2: Escape From Fortress Summit
by MWolfL
Summary: Prince Austin and Princess Uniqua are back, only this time there's a new foe to reckon with: Rothbart's ex-partner Clavius, who's looking for a hidden source to the Forbidden Arts. Will they be able to stop him? AustinXUniqua and a little TyroneXTasha
1. The Fire of an Anniversary

A.N. Here you go everyone, the sequel to my first crossover! I know that there are some of you who have been looking forward to this. This won't be as long as my first one, but hopefully it's as good. Like with Rothbart I did a creature combo for Clavius. His description will be later in the story.

A huge creature started walking through the woods with a rope. Upon closer inspection you could see that this creature was a cross between a gorilla and a Hercules beetle. He had the body of a gorilla, but the head and wing case of a Hercules beetle. His name was Knuckles, and he was setting up a trap. He climbed a tree and prepared a crossbow, tying a rope to its trigger and loading it. Other crossbows had already been prepared and armed. Knuckles then jumped down and walked away with the rest of the rope...

Now, after Austin and Uniqua got married they had decided to move into the old castle Rothbart used to occupy, Swan Castle. Mostly because it had turned out to be in the middle of Austin's homeland and Uniqua's homeland, but also because they loved imagining how Rothabart might react if he were still alive. Tasha was helping Uniqua set up the dinner table. Fortunately, setting the table for Rothbart in the past allowed Tasha to set the table perfectly.

"Everything looks great Tasha." Uniqua smiled.

"Yup, very romantic." Tasha agreed.

"Well it is a very special day for me and Austin, we've been married a whole year."

Uniqua then noticed that something was missing.

"Uh, where are the knives?"

"Oops, almost forgot." Tasha realized. "Hang on."

She rushed out of the room, and then rushed back.

"They were being washed, luckily they're done now." Tasha explained.

"No problem, now it's time to light the candles."

"Got it." Tasha lit a long wooden match by holding it over a torch and then used the match to light the candles. "Say, what is keeping Austin?"

"He's not used to ruling a kingdom, he gets so busy with royal affairs that he forgets about other things." Uniqua shook her head. "He's probably forgotten about dinner, but luckily Horton already knows about dinner."

"Yeah, good thing elephants never forget." Tasha chuckled.

Sure enough, Horton was reminding Austin.

"Uniqua awaits you for dinner Austin." Horton said.

"Right, now, the king of Lincolnshire?" Austin wanted to get a few other things right.

"He arrives on Sunday sir."

"Horton, come on, enough with the formalities. You know I'm not used to being king, though I still prefer being called prince for now."

Even though Jane was still alive she was sort of in retirement. Austin and Uniqua are the rulers now but still insisted on being called prince and princess if others have to use formalities. They were only gonna accept the king and queen titles once Jane dies of old age, which won't happen for a long time.

"Sorry Austin." Horton said.

"Now about the king, give him the red carpet. You know how egotistical he is."

"I sure do." Horton chuckled.

"Trumpets...banners...banquets...oh just give him the whole thing."

"Oh, and you'll need to greet him with a gift."

"Good catch, don't let me forget that."

Austin then noticed the painters who were working on the walls. The castle was being given a pink and purple theme to contrast the gloomy look it used to have.

"It needs to be a half-shade darker guys." Austin said before continuing to the dining room.

Horton stayed behind to observe the painters, and he nodded approvingly before realizing that he was falling behind.

"Hey wait up!" Horton hurried after him; thank goodness the castle was strong and sturdy enough for an elephant. "Oh, just remembered Jane's birthday is coming up."

"Whoa, have to think of something there. She's so hard to get a gift for..." Austin thought it over. "Well I'll think of something later. Oh and Horton, those shrubs by the lake really need to be trimmed."

"Yes yes of course...Uniqua awaits you for dinner."

"I know I know!"

Meanwhile, Knuckles had just fired a couple arrows into a field. Now normally this wouldn't be anything to be concerned about, except the arrows he fired were **on** **fire**! The fire spread through the field rapidly...

"Perfect!" Uniqua grinned. "Now all we need is Austin."

"Uniqua!" Austin ran into the room. "Someone has just set fire to the Western Fields!"

"Oh no!" Uniqua gasped. "Well dinner will have to be postponed then. Come on let's go help!"

They both ran out of the room. Tasha decided to stay behind and keep dinner warm for them.

Austin and Rudy immediately saddled up. They were planning to go after whoever set fire to the field. Uniqua was going to help the peasants put out the fire before too many crops were destroyed. She drove a horse-drawn wagon filled with water and blankets.

"Be careful Uniqua." Austin said.

"Me? You're the one going after whoever caused the fire." Uniqua chuckled.

"She does have a point." Rudy added; even though he had become braver he still got nervous easily.

"Easy bro, there's two of us against one of him." Austin reminded him.

"Three of us." Pablo corrected flying in. "General Pablo reporting for duty sir."

Tommy and Morton showed up as well.

"And I was having a good beauty sleep too..." Tommy muttered.

"Beauty sleep? It's an attitude adjustment you need Tommy." Morton frowned.

Tommy glared back.

"Anyway, I saw the brute who started the fire. He's huge, with gorilla arms and an ugly horned face." Pablo said. "And he's deadly with a bow and arrow."

"Don't lose sight of him Pablo, we're gonna need you to guide us to him." Austin said.

"No fear!" Pablo gave Austin the thumbs-up.

"I'm really getting tired of that..." Tommy muttered.

"Tommy." Austin said seriously.

Tommy nervously looked up.

"You and Morton take the river and try to slow this guy down." Austin ordered.

"Right away Austin." Morton saluted as Tommy entered the river.

"Speak for your-seeeelllllfff!" Tommy panicked as Morton used his tail to propel them through the water. "Slow down slow down! Mortoooonnnn!"

They suddenly fell over a waterfall! Fortunately they came back up unharmed. Well, except for Tommy, if you consider 'terrified' to be the same as 'harmed'.

Pablo stayed on Knuckles, following him through the woods. Austin and Rudy followed Pablo.

"Morton slow down-*yeesh*." Tommy winced.

They had just noticed Knuckles. Morton stopped his tail.

"Wow he does have an ugly face." Tommy remarked.

Morton started his tail again.

"Morton slow down!" Tommy protested.

"Hang on." Morton led them in front of some rocks in the river.

Tommy then noticed Knuckles heading towards them and realized Morton's plan.

"No way!" Tommy protested, zipping away before Knuckles could step on him.

This caused both Knuckles and Morton to fall into the river. Morton grabbed onto the back of Knuckles shirt. Knuckles almost got caught in the current but was able to pull himself back onto shore with a branch, Morton still on him.

"Darn it!" Morton pumped a fist disappointedly.

Knuckles didn't hear him, he still had his mind on the plan.

"Excuse me sir, but you missed my stop. Hey! I'd like to get off! I said I'd-" Morton was cut off by a branch hitting him. "But not that badly." He muttered, holding onto the branch.

Morton then fell into Austin's quiver as Austin galloped past him.

Knuckles, now having arrived in the place with the crossbows, dropped his bow. He then hid and held onto a rope, preparing to pull it. Pablo saw this and realized the situation.

"No one hurts the princes, not on my watch!" Pablo zoomed down.

Unfortunately Knuckles saw him and hit him aside. Pablo slammed into a tree back first, knocked out.

Having lost sight of Pablo, Austin and Rudy reined in. Austin dismounted and went ahead, searching for Knuckles. Rudy stayed behind, looking around for Pablo. Austin armed a bow...discovering Morton instead of an arrow in his bow.

"Morton? What are you doing?" Austin asked.

"Stretching my tail, what does it look like?" Morton retorted sarcastically.

"Sorry." Austin relaxed his grip, allowing Morton to hide on his back.

This time Austin grabbed a real arrow. He looked around, but didn't see anyone apart from Rudy and their horses. Rudy however noticed something...

"Austin look out! Above you!" He called out.

Austin looked and saw crossbows aimed at him! The crossbows fired! Fortunately, Rudy rushed forward and knocked Austin out of the way.

"Thanks bro." Austin smiled.

"No problem." Rudy smiled back.

They then heard muffled complaints. Morton had been squashed between them.

"Sorry Morton." Rudy got up.

"No problem, better squished than shot." Morton got up too and dusted himself off.

Morton then moved to the ground so that Austin could get up. Austin rearmed his bow and looked around more, but Knuckles had vanished. Austin did find someone else though.

"Pablo!" Austin gasped.

He dropped his bow and rushed over.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

"That brute whammed me into a tree and sprained my tail, unfortunately my Achilles Heel." Pablo explained and Austin gently picked him up. "I won't be flying for a while."

"We'll get you home." Austin started to walk away. "Now why would that brute set fire to our fields?"

"I'll tell you why: to lead a couple daring young princes into a trap." Pablo explained.

Rudy gulped.

"Don't say anything you guys, especially not to Uniqua." Austin said. "I don't want her to worry."

"My beak is sealed." Pablo agreed, making a zipping motion across his mouth.

When they got back to the field they saw that the fire had been put out. There was only some smoke left, which the peasants were fanning away. Uniqua was handing out ladles of water to the peasants.

"Thank you." One peasant said before taking a drink. "We're awful lucky to have a princess like you."

"I'm the one who's lucky." Uniqua smiled.

"You're an angel." Another peasant smiled.

"That's why I married her." Austin smiled, showing up for a drink. "You're so good Uniqua, and so kind."

Uniqua handed Austin a ladle of water.

"Well that was an interesting way to spend our anniversary." Uniqua remarked.

Austin did a spit take.

"Aw man I forgot!" He facepalmed.

"Oh it's okay, the safety of our people come first." Uniqua smiled.

"Even so, I still should have planned something. I'll make it up to you I promise." Austin vowed.

Austin wasn't the only one upset...


	2. A New Enemy and a Half Centennial Party

Knuckles had arrived back in this mountain, to meet his boss Clavius. He went into this gondola, not the river kind but the sky kind. You know, the kind that goes from one place to another by rope or cable high up in the air. The trip was unnerving enough with it going over a deep gorge, but what made it worse was that there was a river of lava at the bottom of the gorge.

"Here he comes." Clavius said to himself excitedly.

Clavius was a cross between a great horned owl and a black witch moth. His body was mostly owl, except he had the wings and antennae of the moth. This kinda gave him a double-horned appearance. Having always been fascinated with magic and the supernatural, Calvius most often dressed up in robes. This time he was wearing a black and red robe with a gold-colored sash. He never wore hats, for he liked his double-horned appearance.

"Ah well, too bad you didn't live to see this day oh partner of mine." Clavius said with fake sympathy, tossing a dagger into a portrait of him and Rothbart. "We could have shared it all, but **no**, you had to betray me! We conquered the Forbidden Arts together, but then you drove me underground!"

Clavius tossed a pin into his mouth and spat it at the portrait. Like the dagger it kinda missed it's mark, though instead of landing above Rothbart's head like the dagger the pin landed in Rothbart's shoulder.

"Thought you were real smart didn't you? Until you met Prince Austin." Clavius this time tossed a battle-ax, but it only hit Rothbart's other shoulder. "But today, today Austin met his match. Me." Clavius cackled and sharpened a couple darts. "And now that he's out of the way I'm gonna go back to that old castle of yours and get the Forbidden Arts. Proving that I was always the greater man." He tossed the darts under his leg, causing them to land in Rothbart's cheeks.

Knuckles arrived nervously.

"Hurry up Knuckles, today we conquer the world!" Clavius laughed.

"Uh...uh...well it uh..." Knuckles stammered.

"Well what? What?" Clavius said impatiently.

"I-i-i-it didn't work." Knuckles said. "H-he beat the trap."

"He didn't beat the trap. No one beats a Clavius trap! You didn't set it right nitwit!" Clavius scolded. "If we don't finish off Austin I can't get into his castle and get the Forbidden Arts! Capiche?"

"Hey it wasn't my fault! His younger brother knocked him out of the way!" Knuckles protested.

"Oh. Yeah I forgot about Austin's younger brother." Clavius realized.

"Besides, Austin's been living there for a whole year, he's probably found the Arts by now." Knuckles pointed out.

"No no no no no no! He'll never find the Forbidden Arts! Rothbart made sure of it! Even I couldn't get to it while he was still alive." Clavius shook his head. "When I heard he got the Forbidden Arts back long ago I tracked him down and spied on him. I found out where he hid them and how to reach them. But when I reached the Forbidden Arts he appeared and drove me away. Fortunately, I remember how to get down the secret passageway. Austin doesn't even **know** there is a secret passageway!"

He then glanced at the portrait. The image of Rothbart seemed to be smirking at him.

"Now don't you look at me like that!" Clavius snapped, taking down the portrait. "I **will** get the Forbidden Arts! I will prove my greatness! And I will destroy Austin! The boy **you** were too weak to defeat!"

He slammed the portrait down onto a stalagmite, destroying the image of Rothbart...

Now, as you might remember Horton mentioned that Jane's birthday was coming up. She was in her castle looking forward to celebrating it...but not looking forward to how old she was getting. Even so, she went through the cards she got like a kid would go through his or her presents.

"More birthday wishes!" Janes laughed gleefully. "I love how my fellow royals shower me with praise and respect! Ah, the Duke of Wicksam." She read the card. "'Dearest Jane, don't be sad, don't be blue, we still think you're nifty. You're still here, you're still kicking even thought you're FIFTY'?" Jane tossed the card down in disgust. "That wretch dared to mention the very number!" She picked up another card and read it. "'So you're turning fif-' well I've got a number for you buddy! EIGHTY-SIX!" She tossed that card aside; she opened another one to reveal a giant pop-out 50. "OH!" She gasped, both startled and disgusted. "Oh where is Austin and Rudy's letter? Those two are inseparable but I still wish Rudy hadn't left with Austin. It's kinda lonely around here. Oh I'll bet they've gotten so busy they've forgotten...no wait, my birthday is tomorrow, they're probably planning something big."

Tyrone then entered. Even though he and Tasha were dating he still worked for Jane while Tasha now worked for Austin and Uniqua so they weren't able to see each other that often.

"Messages from Prince Austin and Prince Rudy your highness." Tyrone said.

"Yes!" Jane pumped a fist. "Well what are they? No let me guess: they're holding a ball in my honor? No no no no, they've established a new holiday: Jane Day!" She laughed joyfully.

"Well Prince Rudy's message is about your birthday. He says that once a mystery is solved in a few days he'd love for you to come to Swan Castle for a grand celebration." Tyrone said.

"I knew it...! Wait, what mystery? And what about Austin's message?" Jane asked.

"Er...his Western Field has been set on fire and he is busy trying to figure out who did it and why." Tyrone said awkwardly.

Jane looked as if she was about to cry. She even did the lip thing.

"Jane?" Tyrone said.

"It's more than I can bear!" Jane went over to her vanity table.

"No one was hurt, not even Rudy." Tyrone said quickly.

"That's not the problem! Do you know what the real problem is?"

"Uh, this attack is going to cause a war?" Tyrone guessed.

"No! With this new mystery they're sure to forget my birthday now!" Jane sat down and cried.

Tyrone comfortingly patted her on the back...but still looked annoyed about her self-centeredness.


	3. An Abduction Becomes an Irritation Fast

The castle's new chef, Jojo the Who, was going over the menu with Austin and Rudy.

A.N. I know Jojo is a singer and not a cook but I decided to add him in for Jojo fans. I didn't use Ned, Jojo's father, because I figured his being accident-prone wouldn't be a good trait for a chef.

"Uh, these are the, uh, the choices for Sunday's dinner with the king of Lincolnshire." Jojo said, handing Austin a menu; he was a shy guy, but very friendly. "I-I'm thinking he'd like my, uh, my f-fettuccine alfredo."

"I'm thinking he'd be crazy not to." Rudy laughed.

"Same here, that's one of your best dishes." Austin agreed.

"Oh, thank you sires." Jojo smiled before leaving for the kitchen.

Austin then saw Tasha with a picnic basket.

"Are we ready Tasha?" He asked.

"Sure are." Tasha smiled.

"*Mm*, smells great." Rudy licked his lips. "Wish I was going."

"Yeah, sorry Rudy but this is a couples' only outing." Austin said apologetically.

"It's okay, I believe there are leftovers in the kitchen." Rudy grinned.

"Tell Uniqua I'll be right there." Austin said as he and Rudy headed down some stairs.

"Will do!" Tasha saluted before leaving with the basket.

As Austin and Rudy entered a room, they saw Horton with some sheet-covered items on a table.

"Ah, morning Austin and Rudy." Horton smiled.

"Morning Horton." Austin and Rudy smiled.

"Jinx!" Rudy laughed.

Austin just smirked at him.

"So what do we have here?" Austin asked Horton.

"All the clues from the strange events of last night." Horton explained, removing the sheet. "Here's a piece of the suspect's clothing."

"Excellent, find out who makes this kind of cloth. And more importantly, **who** buys it."

"I can get a little rough if you're having trouble getting answers." Rudy suggested.

"Just try not to hurt anyone." Austin chuckled,

"Including yourself." Horton noogied Rudy.

"Hey cut it out!" Rudy laughed.

"Anyway, I also have an arrow from the trap and some hairs." Horton continued. "The hairs, combined with this mold of the suspect's footprint, hints that he is half ape. Perhaps half gorilla."

"Good work Horton!" Austin smiled.

"Only one footprint?" Rudy chuckled. "That makes our job **half** as easy." He joked. "Get it? Cause half of two is one-hey!"

Horton was noogieing Rudy again. Austin laughed.

Meanwhile, Tasha was loading the wagon. There was not only a picnic basket but also a bowl of fruit and a candelabra. Pablo, Tommy, and Morton were keeping Uniqua company while she waited for Austin. Pablo still had a wounded tail, which was obvious because it had been bandaged.

"Wow, that's gonna be some picnic!" Pablo smiled.

"Austin is trying to make up for forgetting our anniversary." Uniqua explained.

"Too bad I can't come, but I need to rest my tail anyway." Pablo shrugged.

"That reminds me, no one told me what happened." Uniqua realized.

"Your prince almost got us-" Tommy was about to say but Morton wrapped his tail around Tommy's mouth.

"Oh nothing, We unfortunately lost the guy. Pablo got hurt trying to stop him from disappearing and Austin and Rudy had to stop looking for him in order to take Pablo home." Morton said quickly.

Tommy glared at Morton. Even though Morton, Pablo, and the princes had really been the ones in danger Tommy had still been close enough to the scene to almost get hurt. In fact, if he hadn't ducked he would've gotten hurt.

"Come on don't tease Tommy, let him go." Uniqua said.

Morton released Tommy, who decided not to say anything more about that night.

"Don't mind them Uniqua, you can't expect much from commoners." Tommy dusted himself off.

"Don't tell me you still think you're a prince." Pablo was surprised.

No one had said anything about that subject for a year. At least not since Tommy found out that the kiss didn't work. He was too embarrassed and confused to say anything. But apparently he had gotten over it now.

"I don't think, I know!" Tommy retorted.

"I don't think you know either." Morton chuckled.

Pablo laughed.

"Watch it or I'll have you put on the rack!" Tommy scolded.

"Oh come on, Uniqua gave you the kiss and you're still yellow and chubby." Morton pointed out.

"Something went wrong...hey! Watch it with those 'chubby' remarks!" Tommy snapped.

Austin then arrived.

"How did the investigation go?" Uniqua asked.

"Great, Horton and Rudy have gone to look into the clues Horton found." Austin smiled. "I'm gonna join them after our picnic."

"Wonderful...oh, what about Jane's birthday?" Unqiua remembered.

"Rudy already sent her a letter saying that we'll hold a big celebration for her after we solve this mystery." Austin explained.

"Surely these clues can wait a couple days."

"No, and don't call-"

"Please, not that old joke." Uniqua rolled her eyes.

"Sorry." Austin said. "Anyway, we have to catch this guy before he strikes again and hurts someone. I'm sure mom understands."

"True..."

"Anyway enough of that talk, let's just enjoy our picnic." Austin smiled.

They got into the wagon and left.

Meanwhile, Jane still believed that Austin and Rudy had forgotten her birthday.

"Happy birthday to me." She sang sadly. "Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday poor Jane, happy big five-oh to me." She started crying, but then suddenly stopped. "Ch-ch-Chamberlain!" She called out.

A colorful hot hair balloon with a boat shaped basket was arriving, and the banner on it read:

"'Happy Birthday Mother'!" Jane read ecstatically. "Oh I'd knew they would remember!"

Tyrone had arrived and was also very happy.

"Hello down there!" The clown piloting the hot air balloon laughed. "Hello!"

Tyrone winced a little but laughed too. He used to hate clowns but recently changed his mind. Even so some old habits are hard to break. Jane also laughed.

"Oh how cute." She smiled.

"What are you doing here Jane? They're having a big party for you over at Swan Lake!" The clown laughed.

"A party?" Jane was very happy. "They must have solved their mystery early!"

The hot air balloon landed on the ground.

"Go on, go on get in your highness!" Tyrone said excitedly, pushing Jane towards the hot air balloon.

Jane immediately got in.

"Welcome aboard dear queen!" The clown laughed. "And now I'd like to point out some safety features...but there are none!"

Jane laughed weakly.

"And here we go!" The clown laughed as the hot air balloon took off.

"Safe journey! Au revoir!" Tyrone called after them.

The balloon was now high in the air.

"Oh it's lovely, I can see everything!" Jane looked around. "There's the Duke of Wicksam's home. He sent me the most obnoxious birthday card! *Gasp* oh there he is! Oh what I wouldn't give for an overripe melon! Oh there's Swan Lake, I can't wait...uh, why are we flying away from it?"

"Well, there's been a little change in our flight plan." The clown chuckled. "Our new destination..."

The clown ripped off his mask. It was Clavius!

"My place." Clavius said, laughing sinisterly.

Now most kidnapped people would be frightened, but Jane wasn't an ordinary person. She wasn't an ordinary queen for that matter.

"No one spoils my birthday!" Jane growled; she then started strangling him.

Clavius protested, though most of it was made incomprehensible due to him being strangled.

"What are you...stop it...don't you know the rules..." Clavius protested.

"You take me to Austin's or I'll throw you out like a jar of bad mayonnaise!" Jane threatened.

Clavius managed to break her grip on him.

"May I offer you a seat?" He said sarcastically, picking her up and forcing her down on a stool.

"When Austin and Rudy find out about this you will be in significant trouble!" Jane glared.

"I'm not scared of your little boys." Clavius retorted. "In fact, while you were busy enjoying the scenery I sent Austin a ransom note down that tells him exactly where to find me. I believe your Chamberlain is already on his way to give him the note."

Sure enough, Tyrone had gotten the note and had already left for Swan Lake.

Clavius and Jane had arrived at Clavius's home in the mountain.

"Whatever it is you have planned you will never get away with it!" Jane scolded. "Because you are a bad person and bad people stand no chance against good people like my sons Prince Austin and Prince Rudy."

Clavius ignored her and tossed Knuckles the rope to the hot air balloon so that Knuckles could tie bring them over to the staircase.

"Did your parents ignore you as a child? Hm? So tell Queen Jane, what dark secrets lurk inside that tiny twisted mind of yours. Come on, out with it!" Jane continued; if she was gonna be a hostage she wasn't gonna make it easy for her captor.

"Don't you ever shut up?" Clavius protested.

"Have you any idea of the penalty for kidnapping?" Jane asked.

"Where's a gag?" Clavius asked Knuckles. "Give me anything, uh...a sock!"

Knuckles just shrugged. There was nothing handy.

"Well I'm not even talking about kidnapping a queen." Jane continued. "Just your basic kidnapping!"

"*Ya-ya-ya-ya-ya!* I don't hear you!" Clavius said, blocking his ears. "*Ya-ya-ya-ya-ya!* I'm not listening! *Ya-ya-ya-ya-ya!*"

"I'm talking to you!" Jane scolded.

"Get her in the pen, yes?" Clavius said calmly to Knuckles as he left...before losing his temper. "Get her in the pen!"

Knuckles reached for Jane's arm.

"Don't touch me!" Jane snapped. "I may be a hostage but I'm still the queen! And it's still my birthday!"

Jane left the boat and headed for the stairs.

"You will walk five paces behind me, no more no less. Come."

Knuckles followed, counting out his steps.

"One, two, three, four, five, one, two, three, four, five..."

Clavius groaned in frustration.

They then stopped at the pen and Knuckles stood aside. Jane just stood there and pointed her head at the pen door.

"Oh, sorry." Knuckles opened the door.

There was a pause.

"Bow!" Jane ordered.

Knuckles, after thinking it over, did. He needed time to figure out how to bow. At least he was able to count to five...

"Now, I am sure that it is well past lunch." Jane said as she entered the pen. "My favorite birthday treat is cucumber sandwiches and peppermint tea."

Knuckles shut the pen door.

"Go!"

Knuckles left.

"What are you doing?" Clavius glared.

"You know, I was just, uh, uh, getting her, uh, um, cucumber sandwiches and some, um, peppermint tea." Knuckles said.

"I see, fascinating." Clavius said with fake interest as he grabbed Knuckles by the shirtfront. "Get to work on the traps!"

"Make sure to slice the cucumbers thinly!" Jane called out.

"She is the queen." Knuckles pointed out.

"Really?" Clavius said sarcastically. "How nice, how thoughtful, and what are you? Miss Suzy Homemaker? And what am I, a **piece of lint**? Do I have to remind you that I am about to become the most powerful man in the world?" He snapped.

Knuckles, realizing that Clavius had a point, headed for the gondola and left. Clavius left too, knowing that Jane was not going to keep quiet...

"All right, don't bring me lunch." Jane said dryly. "BUT MY BIRTHDAY DINNER HAD BETTER BE AWFULLY SPECIAL!"

Clavius groaned, since he heard that even though he had already left in the hot air balloon.


	4. That's What You Do For Your Mom

Tyrone had made it to Swan Castle with the ransom note. Austin and Rudy felt horrible.

"I came...as quickly...as I could." Tyrone gasped, out of breath.

Tasha arrived with a glass of water for him.

"Thank you." Tyrone drank a lot of the water at once.

"We shouldn't have postponed the party." Rudy groaned.

"It's my fault, I was the one who wanted to solve the mystery first." Austin shook his head. "I have to got after her."

"Of course you must." Uniqua agreed, reading the note again.

"You? What about me?" Rudy protested.

"The note said that I have to go after her alone or this guy will attack mom's kingdom." Austin explained. "You and Horton had better go over to her castle just in case."

"Of course, my quiver is full." Horton smiled.

"So are mine...and I'm kinda filled with quivering too." Rudy muttered. "This must be one heck of a guy if he's threatening mom's kingdom on his own."

Almost all of them went outside to help Austin, Horton, and Rudy saddle up. Horton and Rudy left first, with Rudy on his back. Tyrone and Tasha stayed inside to prepare lunch for Uniqua and themselves.

"That map on the note is taking you into another trap Austin." Pablo whispered.

"I know, but I have to do this." Austin whispered back. "Don't let anything happen to Uniqua."

Pablo saluted. Austin then left.

"Austin will find the queen and come galloping back before you know it." Pablo smiled.

"You can't hide from the prince." Morton nodded.

"He is very brave." Uniqua agreed.

"Brave?" Tommy scoffed. "He's a fool!"

"Tommy!" Uniqua was surprised.

"All this jumping into danger!" Tommy continued. "He is a prince! Like me. Too important for risking his life."

TOMMY:

I've been a moving target!

I've been a sitting duck!

I'm almost been an alligator's food!

And all because somebody with more courage than good sense

Had to be rescue from his ineptitude!

Tommy walked around, imitating a target and a duck before opening Morton's mouth and pretending to stick his head in it. Obviously that was not comfortable for Morton. Then Tommy flexed his muscles as he continued walking around but Morton tripped him, relaxing Tommy's muscles.

Well if commoners with not so much to live for want to jeopardize their lives

Maybe that should be allowed

But a prince was born for higher things

And shouldn't risk his life like an ordinary member of the crowd

Tommy tried to stand on top of an ax as he continued singing, but he was too heavy and tipped it off the log it was resting on. Tommy had to leap to the side to prevent the ax from landing on him.

"But Tommy." Uniqua disagreed.

UNIQUA:

That's what you do for a friend

Oh that's what you do for a friend

That's what you do for a friend my friend

That's what you do for a friend.

You hang on through the hard times

PABLO:

Make them laugh if they're feeling low

Pablo put on a comical fake nose with glasses. Don't ask where he got it.

UNIQUA:

And when danger's near you say

PABLO:

No fear!

UNIQUA:

And you go where you have to go

A tiny monster came out of the bushes, scaring Tommy. Tommy ran away but ended up running into Uniqua's dress.

And you never back down

PABLO:

And you'll never back out

Uniqua and Pablo gently forced Tommy towards the monster. It was only Morton in disguise.

UNIQUA:

Keep fighting even though you're filled with doubt

That's what you do for a friend

Oh that's what you do for a friend

That's what you do for a friend my friend

That's what you do for a friend

Uniqua cleaned Tommy and Morton off since Morton's disguise included mud.

"This is ridiculous!" Tommy cried, running off.

TOMMY:

Zipping into danger!

Dashing into traps!

Rushing into a timely end!

Pablo and Morton kept cutting him off so Tommy rushed to the top of a wall.

TOMMY:

You foolhardy heroes will end up with your backs against the wall

In deep trouble once again!

He leaned back a little too far and fell into a bush. He came out holding a few flowers.

TOMMY:

Now some may think it noble to die like that

And be immortalized in songs about the past

He then noticed the gators in the moat looking at him and ran up a tree.

TOMMY:

And you may think it wise

To have a harrowing demise

So that life's exciting right up to the last

"But Tommy." Uniqua said.

UNIQUA:

That's what you do for a friend

Oh that's what you do for a friend

That's what you do for a friend my friend

That's what you do for a friend

The gators, to Tommy's disgust, were enjoying Uniqua's singing. Suddenly, the branch broke! It wasn't strong enough to support Tommy!

"And you even stick your neck out." Morton remarked, watching Tommy fall into the moat.

Tommy saw the gators heading for him and screamed as he started to swim away

UNIQUA:

No matter how scary it gets

PABLO:

You'll go out on a limb

When the chances are slim

Pablo dove into the moat to help.

UNIQUA:

And you'll do it with no regrets

And you'll never give up

Uniqua stayed near the moat, ready to catch Tommy. Morton entered the water and used his tail to propel forward.

MORTON:

You'll never give in

UNIQUA:

You'll keep on trying

PABLO:

Through thick and thin

Morton distracted the gators and Pablo grabbed Tommy, swinging him towards Uniqua. Uniqua caught him and Morton went back onto shore.

UNIQUA:

That's what you do for a friend

Oh that's what you do for a friend

That's what you do for a friend my friend

UNIQUA, MORTON, AND PABLO:

That's what you do for a friend

"Cute, catchy." Tommy said sarcastically. "Didn't work!"


	5. Getting the Forbidden Arts

It turned out Jane knew how to give orders better than Clavus. She was already having Knuckles make the pen more comfortable. At the moment she was directing him in art arrangement.

"No, that's not going to work." Jane decided. "Put the seascape back in the center, and put the portrait of the ugly man above the couch, and *uf* get rid of that tacky velvet thing altogether."

"Yes your highness." Knuckles said, a little annoyed but willing to please her.

Clavius walked in.

"What is this?" He cried, really losing his patience.

"If I'm going to spend my birthday here everything must be perfect." Jane explained sternly.

"You're driving me nuts with this birthday thing!" Clavius snapped before grabbing Knuckles by the ear.

"You let go of my servant!" Jane ordered, grabbing Knuckles arm.

"**Your** servant?" Clavius snapped as he and Jane played tug-of-war with Knuckles. "I taught him everything he knows! And furthermore, this ain't your castle lady! Let go!"

"Lady?" Jane was insulted. "'Your highness' is the proper way for one of your class to address one of mine!"

"Whoa not so hard! Whoa whoa whoa!" Knuckles protested, worried about being torn in half.

Clavius managed to gain all of Knuckles and force him out of the pen. He then shut the door.

"Don't hurt him!" Jane protested. "He hasn't finished my cake."

"*Ohh.* You. Are. A. HOSTAGE!" Clavius screamed. "And you're supposed to be minding the traps!" He then snapped to Knuckles.

"I was serving her majesty." Knuckles explained.

"It's time for a little 'worker retraining'." Clavius calmed down but was still annoyed. "Your job is to put an end to Austin, and don't come back here until you've done it or else!"

Knuckles knew when he was beaten, and went to the gondola and left. Clavius left too, in the balloon, and this time he was going to make a journey instead of just taking a break from 'the royal pain' as he called her.

A.N. Just to let you know: Clavius can't fly on his own. His wings aren't strong enough.

"What's going on here?" Jane protested. "You haven't been excused! Gift's need to be wrapped! The cake needs to be frosted! WHO'S GOING TO SING HAPPY BIRTHDAY?"

Uniqua was enjoying lunch, sort of. It was hard eating alone but she was too hungry to wait for Austin. Tyrone and Tasha were having a lunch date in the kitchen, but Tyrone needed to get back to Jane's castle. He was worried about her kingdom. Tasha understood, and let him go. She, Tommy, Morton, and Pablo got to work on cleaning up.

Suddenly, Clavius entered the room where Uniqua was. Uniqua gasped, startled. Clavius chuckled sinisterly.

"I had a feeling you'd be alone." Clavius smirked.

"Who are you?" Uniqua asked sternly.

"Only the guy-" Clavius stopped to try some mashed potatoes. "Austin is looking for."

"What?" Uniqua gasped, standing up. "Get out!"

"*Tsk tsk tsk tsk* I just got here." Clavius now reached for a turkey leg. "Besides, I came to pick up something: the Forbidden Arts!"

"What are you talking about?" Uniqua walked around the other side of the table, preparing to escape. "Austin destroyed all that when Rothbart died."

Clavius chuckled sinisterly again.

"You'd like to think so wouldn't you?" He sneered.

"I don't know who you are, but when Austin comes back-" Uniqua made a run for the door, but Clavius shut it before she could reach it.

"Austin ain't coming back." Clavius smirked. "He's walking into a trap. A Clavius trap!" Clavius pulled out a ring of keys he took from the palace.

"No!" Uniqua gasped.

"Oh yes." Clavius chuckled sinisterly again

This time, Tasha and the others heard him and snuck over, pulling a cart with dishes on it with them.

"You see, me and old Rothbart worked on the Forbidden Arts together." Clavius explained to Uniqua.

"Clavius!" Tasha gasped quietly.

"You know him?" Pablo asked quietly.

"He used to work with Rothbart until Rothbart forced him away. Rothbart only kept me because I had no interest in the powers of the Forbidden Arts, but Clavius was another story." Tasha explained.

"Oh there here all right, safe and tucked away." Clavius continued, pouring himself some punch. "And once I get 'em, this world will never be the same!" He took a sip.

Uniqua tried to run again, but Clavius dropped the punch and grabbed her by both her arms.

"Now now now now, I see I'm gonna have to lock you up in the tower." Clavius realized.

"Let go of me!" Uniqua protested.

Pablo tried to fly to Uniqua's rescue, but Tasha stopped him.

"Pablo wait, I know how to get the Forbidden Arts." Tasha whispered.

"You do?"

"It's deep under the castle, through secret passageways. It's spooky but not dangerous."

"Yeah, we'll get it before he does." Morton understood the plan.

"Okay that's one idea, any others?" Tommy asked sarcastically.

"Come on Tommy, let's *zapwing* down into the cellar, no fear!" Pablo followed Tasha and Morton.

"Did you know that saying makes me want to hit you with-"

Tommy accidentally hit a ladle into the air as he pounded a fist in frustration. The ladle hit him on the head.

"Something." He finished, dazed.

After Tommy recovered they went down a dark staircase in the cellar.

"Oo my tail." Pablo groaned. "Shouldn't have tried to fly back there."

Tasha took a torch and stuck the bottom end into a little hole in the ground. A secret panel instantly opened up. And most of them left through it.

"Oh sure let's all take the hidden stairway into the rat-infested underground." Tommy said sarcastically before grabbing the torch and running after the others; the panel shut behind him. "That's nice."

Clavius then appeared and had to use a different torch, but didn't think anything of it.

Tasha now led them to a portrait of Rothbart, which startled Tommy once he caught up with them. He dropped the torch with a cry, causing the others to shush him.

"Boy, I was hoping we would never have to see that ugly mug again." Tommy muttered.

Tasha went over to a knob on the stone stair rail and turned it, causing the portrait to fall down and reveal another secret entrance.

"Come on, hurry!" Tasha whispered.

They went though the entrance, but Morton almost fell behind and had to grab the top of the portrait before it closed on him. Clavius just arrived at that point.

Tasha now was hesitating, feeling the wall.

"Hurry Tasha, Clavius will be here any minute." Pablo whispered.

"I'm looking for a loose rock." Tasha explained. "Now where is that rock? Rock? Rock?"

"She's calling a rock." Tommy grew really nervous. "We're dead."

"I'll help you find it." Morton offered, feeling the wall too.

"Oh sure, let the tiny mouse help, that'll get things cooking." Tommy muttered sarcastically.

They heard the portrait falling down again! Clavius was coming! Scared, Tommy drew back and tripped, landing on the floor. This pushed down a rock underneath him and opened another secret entrance. They quickly went through the entrance and just in time. They entered a room filled with various items, including what looked like a jewelry chest. But what really caught their eyes was an orb resting on a pillow on a pedestal in the middle of the room. The orb crackled with energy.

"The Forbidden Arts." Pablo realized.

They then heard the secret entrance opening! They had to move now!

Clavius casually and cheerfully walked into the room...to find the orb gone!

"NOO!" He cried, pounding the pillow and tossing it aside. "NOOO!"

Tasha then led them to a grate in the floor and opened it so that they could escape. They quickly headed for the tower, where Uniqua was locked up.

"Uniqua, we got the Forbidden Arts!" Pablo said, carrying it.

Tasha tried to open the door but it was locked.

"I'll get it." Morton zipped onto the doorknob and picked the lock with his tail.

"Hurry, Austin's in danger." Uniqua said.

Tommy leaned on the door impatiently...just as Morton unlocked the door. Tommy gave a yelp as he fell over backward, pushing the door open.

"Got it!" Morton said as he jumped off the doorknob.

Tasha and Pablo rushed inside.

"Thanks for the warning." Tommy muttered sarcastically. "Oh why do I join you guys on these things? I'm so dumb!" He protested as he kicked the door...shut and locked.

"Yup, you're dumb all right." Morton glared.

Tommy glared back.

"We've got to do something, Austin's headed for a trap!" Uniqua said.

"I wish my tail was better," Pablo said. "I'd zoom out that window and-"

"That's it!" Uniqua grabbed Tasha. "Change me into a swan!"

The others looked at her with surprise.

"I don't know..." Tasha hesitated.

"You must know something about the Forbidden Arts." Uniqua insisted.

"I do, but if Clavius gets the orb you could get stuck as a swan forever." Tasha explained.

"But Austin might die if I don't." Uniqua pointed out.

They thought about that for a few seconds.

"Fly on princess, we'll keep this orb away from Clavius." Pablo smiled. "Even if it costs us our lives."

"**Our** lives?" Tommy repeated, appalled, before correcting: "**Your** lives!"

They heard a sound outside the door. Clavius was coming!

"Do it!" Uniqua ordered.

Clavius, keys in hand, was preparing to interrogate Uniqua about the orb.

"Someone's gonna pay for this!" He opened the door to find Uniqua as a swan! "What?" He gasped, rushing forward to grab her as she flew out the window.

He missed, and growled in disappointment. Then he heard a sound behind him. It was Tasha, Pablo, Tommy, and Morton, who tried to sneak away through the door. Unfortunately, the door wasn't exactly quiet about it.

"Okay, who forgot to oil the hinges?" Pablo glared accusingly; Tommy and Morton just shrugged.

"It's you!" Clavius gasped, recognizing Tasha. "Rothbart's little stooge!"

"Stooge?" Tasha repeated, insulted.

She used the orb to create a scary image in front of Clavius, startling him. She, Pablo, Tommy, and Morton then rushed down the hall, Clavius soon catching up with Tasha since the scary image didn't last long.

"Morton heads up!" Tasha called out, preparing to toss him the orb.

"No no!" Clavius panicked reaching for the orb. "If that thing hits the ground this whole place will explode!"

Pablo had climbed onto a rail and dived down, hitting Clavius in the gut. This caused Clavius to grab Tasha's gown instead of the orb, making them both fall down. The orb rolled out of Tasha's hands and towards Morton. The orb then got stuck onto Morton...and they both fell through a hole in the railing! Pablo prepared to fly down.

"Remember, you're grounded!" Tommy called after him.

"But I can glide!" Pablo called back, diving down and letting himself be used as a cushion for the orb.

The orb rolled off Pablo, Morton still on it, and bounced off the wall. Well, in a way it was Morton who bounced off the wall. The orb then spun around as a dazed Morton walked towards it...and got caught in the spin. The spin caused Morton to fly off and bounce down the stairs. The others started to catch up, but Clavius got there first.

"Set hut!" Tasha quickly said, tricking Clavius into tossing the orb underneath his legs as if they were playing football.

Tasha then tossed the orb to Pablo. Clavius advanced on Pablo, who had to toss the orb back to Tasha due to his tail hurting him. Tasha almost lost her balance down the stairs, but managed to regain it. Clavius tried to catch up but Tommy and Pablo were trying to hold him back by his robe. They lost their grip, causing Clavius to tumble down. Tasha had to leap up and let her legs rest on the stair rails before Clavius could crash into her. He slid under her instead and crashed into Morton. Clavius then noticed the orb bouncing down the stairs towards them, shook Morton off his beard, and made a reach for it. He missed at first, but managed to catch it through a decorative hole in the stair rail. Unfortunately, he tried to pull the orb through the hole, causing it to fall out of his hands! They all watched in horror as the orb fell towards the ground...and landed on a chair cushion.

Morton had to leap out of the way as the orb rolled around the doorway and towards him. Pablo caught it, but Clavius caught him. He lost his balance in the process though, causing him to roughly slide down the stairs and meet up with a metal shield face-first. Tasha had rushed ahead of him and had used the shield to force him to let go of Pablo and the orb. Morton slid down the stair rail and bounced off Clavius's head. Tasha, Pablo, Morton, and Tommy rushed after the orb, but Clavius recovered and pulled on the rug they were on. The orb bounced off the rug, hit Morton, and landed on the stair rail near Clavius.

"Not again-ain-ain-ain-ain." Morton protested as he and the orb rolled down the stair rail.

Clavius kept trying to grab the orb but he kept missing. Morton and the orb ended up rolling down a long stair case. Tasha, Pablo, and Tommy followed by sliding on the stair rail and Clavius followed them by also sliding on the stair rail. When they neared the bottom Pablo and Tommy grabbed onto the orb, causing all of them to fly through the window. Tasha ducked as she reached the end of the stair case, causing Clavius to zoom off and hit the wall below the window face-first. Tasha winced, remembering when a similar even happened to her. She then rushed outside, hoping to find a safe place to hide. She knew what Pablo and the others would end up doing with the orb.

Sure enough, the three of them had landed in the moat, attracting the attentions of the gators. Morton and Pablo let go, but Tommy was still holding on to the orb. Fortunately, the orb ended up bouncing off both gators' heads, dazing them and allowing Tommy to escape into the water-logged dungeon tower. Unfortunately, one of the gators swallowed the orb. Pablo and Morton noticed.

"I'll get it!" Pablo ducked down and butted the gator, forcing the orb out.

Pablo then grabbed the orb and Morton used his tail to help Pablo zoom towards the hole in the wall leading to the water-logged tower. They tried pushing the orb through the hole, but something, or someone, was making it difficult.

"I don't want that thing in here!" Tommy protested, pushing on the opposite end of the orb.

All three of them struggled, but Pablo and Morton won when a gator whammed into them. That forced the orb as well as Pablo and Morton through the hole. The force of the orb being pushed into the tower caused Tommy to rise the air slightly and land back into the water dazed.

"Ha, no fear!" Pablo gave the thumbs up.

"Speak for yourself!" Tommy retorted, giving him the thumbs down before collapsing.

"Next time we go on one of those chases, remind me to not do any rolling stunts." Morton muttered.


	6. Treacherous Traps and a Trick

Now by this point you're probably wondering about Austin. Well he hadn't encountered any traps yet, but it just made him more wary. He slowly and cautiously walked through a path surrounded by two rocky walls. You have to be careful with those kinds of paths because there was a risk of an-

At that moment, Knuckles pushed down some boulders!

-AVALANCHE!

Austin quickly tied a rope to an arrow and fired it into a tree on top of one of the rocky walls. He swung around on the tree, missing all the rocks that were falling. He then was able to swing to safety by landing on the other side of the path.

Uniqua the swan, who remembered what the map on the note Austin got looked like, soared over the general area looking for Austin.

Austin now was walking through some woods. Knuckles cut some ropes, unleashing a net! Austin instantly sliced though the net with his sword, but then had to leap backward over a spiked log that was swinging towards him! He then ducked down as the spiked log swung back, and ran off before it could return. Knuckles cut more ropes, firing crossbows. Fortunately Austin was able to dodge all the arrows, but his quiver wasn't so lucky. It fell to the ground without him noticing.

Austin collapsed onto the ground, slightly tired, when three swords headed for his head! Fortunately, they missed but Austin was still frozen with fear. He quickly recovered when he heard growling: it was a savage wolf! Well, not really, just a hungry one but it looked savage. Of course if you had been starved on purpose you'd probably turn out savage too. Yup, Knuckles was the one who set the wolf on Austin and Clavius had been the one who starved the poor thing.

Austin quickly got up, and had to use his bow to throw the wolf off him. Unfortunately, he did not have his arrows with him. But, he was able to use a very small tree to help himself down onto a ledge, which caused the tree to hit the wolf on the head. This slowed the wolf down, and caused him to be a few feet behind Austin. Austin was able to grab a branch as he ran, and quickly lit it by striking it against a rough rock. Just as the wolf leapt onto the ledge Austin fired the burning branch, causing it to set a bush on fire. The wolf gave up and ran away whimpering. Knuckles was disappointed.

Meanwhile, Uniqua knew that she was on the right track when she saw Austin's quiver with an arrow in it. She was worried, but not panicked or anything since she didn't see blood.

Not too far away, Austin came across a deep pit filled with quicksand and decided to swing across on a vine. Unfortunately, Knuckles was nearby. Even more unfortunately, he had a dagger.

"Toodle-oo!" Knuckles grinned, slicing through the vine.

Austin fell into the quicksand!

"Sticky situation huh?" Knuckles joked, chuckling.

"You can't let me die like this!" Austin pleaded as he started to sink.

"Wanna bet?" Knuckles retorted.

"Help me, help me, I beg you." Austin still pleaded. "Please."

"Good-bye hero boy." Knuckles replied.

Austin disappeared into the quicksand. Knuckles left.

Fortunately, Uniqua arrived at that point and saw Austin's bow on the quicksand.

"Austin!" She gasped.

She then grabbed a vine and dived down. There was a pause, then the vine tightened and Austin's hand appeared grabbing onto it! Austin pulled himself and Uniqua out of the quicksand with the vine.

"Austin." Uniqua said; fortunately Tasha did the spell so that she could speak human.

"Uniqua?" Austin was shocked. "How did you...? What happened?"

"We have to get back to the castle, I'll explain on the way."

"Uniqua, thank you."

Uniqua just smiled.

As they headed back toward the castle Uniqua quickly explained. They both hoped that Clavius hadn't gotten the orb yet.

Pablo, Morton, and Tommy were still hiding in the dungeon tower with the orb, watching it glow on and off. Unfortunately, they didn't know that the glow could be seen through the windows at the top of the tower.

"So that's where they're hiding it." Clavius chuckled, seeing the glow from an outdoor walkway.

"Yeesh, it's kinda spooky in here." Tommy watched the orb nervously.

They heard a quick hiss. They looked up and saw Tasha at the doorway to the tower.

"Come, the coast is clear." Tasha said; she seemed nervous but Pablo and the others didn't notice.

"Are you sure it's safe?" Pablo asked.

"Yeah." Tasha said.

Actually, Clavius was making her say it by hiding behind her and threatening her with a dagger pointed at her back. She didn't want Clavius to get the orb but she knew he'd stab her if she didn't agree to repeat his words.

"And bring the orb." Clavius whispered.

"Bring the orb." Tasha said.

Pablo, Tommy, and Morton grabbed onto the chain, allowing Tasha to bring them and the orb up to her through a pulley.

"Good work Tasha!" Pablo smiled. "I was afraid old Clavius was going to-"

They then saw Clavius behind Tasha.

"Find us." Pablo finished nervously.

Clavius quickly grabbed the orb.

"Everyone in for a dip?" Clavius pushed Tasha down.

Tasha crashed into Pablo and the others, causing them all to fall into the water.

Clavius laughed as he shut the door and locked it.

"Oh I should've known it was a trick." Pablo said sadly. "Now Uniqua will be stuck as a swan forever."

"Not to mention the badguy's got the orb and he's probably going to blow the whole kingdom to bits." Morton added, climbing onto Tommy.

"Thank you for that cheery little update." Tommy replied sarcastically.

A bit later, Pablo came up with a plan to get out. Tommy started climbing the walls towards the pulley. Despite being a hippo he wasn't too bad at climbing.

"Come on Tommy." Tasha said encouragingly.

"You can do it buddy." Morton said.

"No fear big fella!" Pablo grinned.

"Shut up with the 'no fear' stuff or I'll jump on purpose!" Tommy warned, shaking a fist.

Unfortunately, he lost his grip and fell back into the water anyway.

"Oh I'll get it." Morton zipped up to the pulley.

"Why didn't you have him go up there first?" Tommy glared to Pablo.

"'Cause you need to pull your weight more." Pablo replied.

"Was that a 'chubby' remark?" Tommy grabbed Pablo by his bow-tie.

"Hey guys I got it!" Morton dropped the chain. "Hurry, Clavius is taking off!"

Tasha, Pablo, and Tommy grabbed onto the chain.

"Okay, Morton, pull us up!" Pablo called.

"Oh sure, and after that I'll fly around the world and reverse the Earth's rotation." Morton said sarcastically before struggling to pull them up. "Good...thing...I took up...weight...lifting." Morton grunted.

"Eat your heart out Rothbart!" Clavius laughed inside his hot air balloon. "This world is about to see the reign of Clavius!"

Pablo, Tommy, and Morton made it outside to the roof of the tower and reached for the rope hanging from the hot air balloon. Pablo and Morton made it, but Tommy missed and grabbed Morton's tail instead. This caused Morton's tail to bounce up and down.

"What is my tail, a Slinky?" Morton said sarcastically.

"Don't forget Morton, no fear!" Pablo said.

"That does it!" Tommy moved to the rope, climbed it, and started strangling Pablo.

Morton waved to Tasha, who wasn't able to grab the rope in time. Tasha gave them a thumbs up back.


	7. Musical Gloating

On their way back to the castle, Uniqua saw the hot air balloon and recognized the pilot. Not hard to recognize him, considering, well, you know.

"Austin that's him!" Uniqua said, stopping. "He's got the orb!"

"What?" Austin gasped. "Then we've gotta follow him!"

They turned around and did. Fortunately, since Knuckles thought Austin was dead he and Uniqua didn't meet up with any more traps.

Meanwhile, Tommy had stopped strangling Pablo but still looked irritated.

"You're not still mad are you?" Morton asked.

"Why should I be mad? I like hanging on for dear life." Tommy replied sarcastically. "Next to snorkeling it's one of my favorite activities."

Clavius landed into the mountain.

"How dare you leave in the middle of my birthday." Jane said sternly.

Clavius left the balloon and made his way down the stairs.

"Well I hope you brought a gift to say you're sorry." Jane added.

Clavius gloatingly showed Jane the orb.

"Ha! A fishbowl wasn't exactly what I had in mind!" Jane snapped.

Pablo, Tommy, and Morton climbed onto the platform that led from the balloon to the stairs.

"All right, we gotta get that orb." Pablo ordered. "Tommy, you're in charge of distracting Clavius."

"Okay, and you're in charge of coming up with a better idea." Tommy retorted.

"You gotta be in charge of something." Morton put his fists on his hips.

"Oh I'll be in charge of two things: running and hiding." Tommy ran off.

Clavius put the orb on a pedestal.

"Your highness, I am going to make this a birthday you will never forget." He said. "Let the powers of the Forbidden Arts flow into me."

They did, which you could tell because Clavius's hands started sparkling with magical electricity. Meanwhile, Pablo and Morton snuck over. Clavius tested the powers by sending a blast to a barrel. The barrel disintegrated, causing Tommy to find a new hiding place.

"It's stronger than I thought." Clavius chuckled; he then sent another blast, which bounced off a metal pole and the rock wall before landing back in his hand. "It's mine, it's finally mine!" He laughed. "The power to create" He conjured up a pile of treasure.

"Wretched crook!" Jane scolded.

"The power to change." Clavius turned a wooden stool into a tall throne.

"Despicable!" Jane glared.

"The power to destroy!" Clavius destroyed a wooden bucket.

"You horrid man!" Jane said angrily.

"The power of the Forbidden Arts is mine, all mine."

CLAVIUS:

You may not like my new found power

But I think it's totally hot!

And you may hate the way I use it

But am I concerned? I'm not!

'Cause the power to create is mine

And the power to change oh joy!

The power to rearrange your life

And the power to destroy!

He blasted a jar to pieces, created some tools, turned most of Jane's furniture to rocks, and used the tools to destroy the rocks and remaining furniture. He then created a magical electric guitar. He played it and slid along the ground on his knees.

Now I give the orders

And you're gonna take 'em

Things gonna be the way that I make 'em!

I'll be the one who gets every break

You gotta love it!

Yeah-ha! You gotta love it!

He let out a blast, which bounced off a wooden jar and hit Jane. The blast turned her gown into peasant rags and gave Clavius a royal robe. Pablo and Morton tried to get the orb by having Morton swing down like Errol Flynn but a blast sliced through the rope and cause Morton to slide into the wall instead.

Every day's gonna be a vacation

Now I am the king of gratification

I'll do whatever I want everyday

You gotta love it!

Yoo-hoo! You gotta love it!

Clavius now took Jane's earrings and turned them into gold coins which he tossed into a moneybag around his waist.

I'll take aim at any target

I'll stake claim to every wealth

And I think I'll fill the cup of power

And drink it to my health!

He destroyed more items, causing Tommy to run around finding new hiding places. Clavius then poured himself a goblet of punch, took a drink, and tossed the goblet aside. It hit Tommy on the head.

Yeah I wanna wish up every human

Everything anyone could consume

Ten thousands of lifetimes all in one room

You gotta love it!

Hey-hey-yeah! You gotta love it!

Clavius created more piles of treasure before destroying a small bucket, except for the metal rings around it. It turned out Pablo was sneaking up on the orb in that bucket and the metal rings became hula hoops for him. Clavius then removed Jane's shoes and gave himself golden shoes.

Oh you gotta love this power of mine!

Pablo and Morton now removed a drainage pipe from the wall and tried to use it to roll down the orb to them.

Meanwhile Clavius was playing a magic electric guitar and musically humming. He also sent out random blasts, which seem to only almost hit Tommy.

"What's he got, hippo seeking missiles?" Tommy said dryly, getting tired.

Clavius was now playing a magic piano. The first time Pablo and Morton tried to get the orb almost caused it to fall though, making them nervous. Clavius now switched back to his electric guitar.

I'll take aim at any target

I'll stake claim to every wealth

And I think I'll fill the cup of power

And drink it to my health

Pablo and Morton grew braver and made the orb land on the pipe so it could slide to them. Clavius didn't seem to notice the pipe, even though he jumped over it, but a blast from him did cause Pablo and Morton to accidentally toss the pipe up. This caused to orb to wind up back on the pedestal. Clavius was now using magic bolts to play a tune on the bars on the door to Jane's pen. He then zapped a yoke onto Jane, and then added full buckets of water. Jane couldn't handle the weight and she fell down.

Yeah I wanna wish up every human

Everything anyone could consume

Ten thousands of lifetimes all in one room

You gotta love it!

Clavius jumped from rock to rock, turning them to gold.

Yeah! You gotta love it!

Oh you gotta love this power of mine!

Oh zow! Rock and roll!

He took Jane's crown and gave himself a kingly crown. He then let out blasts so that they resembled fireworks. Fortunately, Uniqua and Austin saw them and was able to find their way to the cliff opposite the mountain that way.

"Oh no." Uniqua realized that Clavius got the powers.

"Fly across, make sure mom's okay." Austin told Uniqua; she left. "Be careful."

Austin then saw the gondola and made his way to it, but ran into Knuckles.

"I thought you were dead!" Knuckles was surprised.

"So did I." Austin replied coldly.

"I should've taken care of you how I know best: with these!" Knuckles raised a couple fists and charged.

They fought, Knuckles managing to knock Austin towards the edge of the cliff. Before Knuckles could push him over though Austin used his feet to throw Knuckles over him. Knuckles quickly grabbed the edge of the cliff.

"I beg you, grab my hand, please, I'm slipping." Knuckles begged. "You can't let me die like this."

Austin cringed, hesitating. Knuckles didn't listen to him when he pleaded for his life earlier, but he wasn't the type to let anyone die. So, just as Knuckles lost his grip, Austin grabbed him and pulled him back up.

"Oh thank you, thank you." Knuckles recovered before grinning evilly. "Sucker!"

He tossed Austin aside, causing him to almost fall off the cliff! Austin quickly grabbed the edge. Knuckles tried to finish the job by stepping on Austin's hands but Uniqua saw the whole thing and attacked him. Unfortunately, he was able to grab his belt and tie her up with it. He then forced Austin off the cliff! Austin screamed as he fell!

Uniqua watched the spot where Austin fell with horror as Knuckles carried her towards the gondola. But, what they both didn't know was that Austin was able to grab the root of a dead trunk and climb back to the top.

Knuckles set Uniqua down on the gondola floor and started it. Austin missed the gondola, so he walked on the ropes the gondola was attached to like a tightrope walker.

"Now you're gonna join your little friend." Knuckles picked up Uniqua and prepared to drop her!

Fortunately Austin got close enough to leap down and grab the edge of the gondola. Knuckles noticed the jolt of Austin landing, so he set Uniqua back down and went to look. Austin had already disappeared underneath the gondola, so Knuckles thought nothing of it. Uniqua took that moment to try to free herself, but she only got one wing free when Knuckles noticed her. He picked her up again!

"Bye-bye birdie!" Knuckles chuckled, preparing to drop her!

"No!" Austin cried.

Austin quickly used his sword to cut through the rope so that he could swing down. Knuckles, however, fell to his death.

Uniqua desperately tried to fly to safety but only managed to slow her descent. However this allowed Austin to swing over and grab her. They both landed on the wall without getting hurt, but wound up stuck.

"Now what?" Uniqua asked.

"I didn't plan any further than this." Austin admitted.

Suddenly, they were getting pulled up! It was Pablo, Morton, and Tommy, who were taking a break outside since Clavius was still partying inside.


	8. A Mountain of a Battle

Meanwhile, Jane still didn't know when to shut up.

"Well you can change yourself into whatever you'd like." Jane said. "You'll always be a third-rate villain inside."

"You're pushing it highness." Clavius warned.

"On the other hand no matter what you do to me I'll always remain a queen." Jane continued. "Who's birthday it is. Furthermore-"

"That does it!" Clavius snapped. "I warned you not to yak so much! But no! Yak yak yak yak yak yak yak! So that's what you get: a yak!"

Clavius changed Jane into a yak! She still had her hair though. However, she wasn't any quieter as a yak.

"Oh I can't shut her up!" Clavius protested.

He turned her back.

"And I hope you like bread and water, because that's the daily fare in prison." Jane warned.

Clavius then tried a chimp. No luck. He turned her back.

"You're up to about five lifetime sentences bub!" Jane scolded.

Clavius now tried a parrot. Big mistake.

"Keep it up! Keep it up! You're only getting yourself deeper and deeper, deeper-" Jane squawked.

"Oh I can't take it!" Clavius cried.

He tried an ostrich, a goat, a beaver, a horse, and an elephant. Actually the elephant was a stupid idea, because they were not only noisy but also heavy enough to break down the pen door. Clavius realized this in time and turned Jane back to normal before she could.

"THAT DOES IT! YOU'RE GETTING THE GUILLOTINE!" Jane was really ticked off now.

Unfortunately, so was Clavius. Well, maybe just annoyed up to the point of desperation.

"What doesn't talk...a fly!" Clavius realized. "Yes, yes, a fly!"

"Go ahead! I'll fly right out of here!"

"Who cares? You'll be a fly."

"I'll buzz around your ear at night for the rest of my life!"

"Which will be about, oh, three to five days?"

Jane, this time, fell silent.

"So long your fly-ness." Clavius said, preparing the spell. "Watch out for spiderwebs."

"Don't you dare hurt my mother." Austin glared, suddenly appearing.

"What?" Clavius gasped, obviously surprised to see Austin alive.

"You heard me, it's over." Austin said coldly.

Clavius chuckled evilly.

"Far from it." He sent a blast towards Austin.

Austin ducked to where Uniqua, Pablo, Tommy, and Morton were.

"I'll distract him, Uniqua free my mom, and then all of you get into the balloon." Austin whispered.

"What about the orb?" Uniqua whispered.

"Leave the orb to me." Austin went out to battle Clavius.

"Oh you want to have a little swashbuckling eh?" Clavius saw Austin brandishing his sword.

Clavius conjured a gold and black sword, causing an intense sword fight. Uniqua and the others went over to the pen.

"Morton, lock and key at your service." Morton bowed before picking the lock with his tail.

"Oo I'm going to be rescued by little animals?" Jane said skeptically. "Oh well, I'll go with it."

"Hey, you're an animal too." Tommy retorted.

"Oh yeah. Sorry being transformed many times muddled my memory."

Austin continued battling the magic sword up the stairs, and was able to throw it off and get it stuck in the floor. Clavius then turned the stairs into a slide and caused a firewall at the bottom! Fortunately, Austin was able to leap over the stair rail.

Morton got the lock unlocked. Tommy, being the strongest, opened the pen door.

"I'm out of here!" Tommy ran off.

Pablo, Uniqua, Morton, and Jane followed him up the other flight of stairs leading to the balloon.

Clavius sent blast after blast at Austin, but he ducked them all and even used a shield to block one. At that point Clavius saw that his prisoner had escaped. He saw Jane on the stairs and tried to blast her but Austin distracted him by tossing the shield at him. Austin tried to run for the orb but Clavius blasted his sword out of his hand, knocking him down! Only Tommy, who was still on the stairs, saw this. The others had already made it into the balloon, but Tommy was taking a breather since he was more used to swimming than running.

"Did you really think you could defeat the Forbidden Arts?" Clavius glared.

Austin got up and quickly ducked as Clavius sent another blast. The blast bounced off walls and poles and hit Tommy, turning him into a prince!

"I'm a prince." Tommy realized. "Hey! Hey! Look! Look! I'm a prince! I'm a-"

Another blast turned him back into a hippo.

"I'm a...I'm, I'm a hippo again." Tommy slumped disappointedly.

"Knock it off Tommy, and get into the balloon." Pablo scolded.

Clavius and Austin were still battling, Tommy watching them. Austin ducked a few times and then leapt onto a pole. Clavius blasted the pole, causing the top part and Austin to fall down. Clavius sent another blast, but Austin used the broken top, which resembled a pair of horns, to reflect it back. Austin then tossed the broken top aside and leapt down, only to be struck in the chest by another blast! Clavius laughed.

"Now I'm gonna finish you one piece at a time!" Clavius started blasting Austin again and again in different places.

Tommy was still watching.

"Help, Austin needs help." He said weakly.

No one heard him. Of course it's hard to hear someone with a weak voice but Tommy was too frightened to make his voice stronger.

Just as Clavius was about to deliver the final blow, Tommy leapt on him! This knocked Clavius down, and they struggled before Clavius blasted Tommy back onto the platform. This time Jane and the others saw it and Jane quickly carried Tommy onto the boat.

Meanwhile, Austin slid across the floor, knocking the pedestal down. Clavius froze as the orb fell, but Austin caught it. Clavius angrily prepared another blast.

"You blast me, and this whole place'll blow." Austin warned, backing up the stairs and towards the balloon.

"Wake up buddy." Morton nudged Tommy's head; nothing. "Oh no."

"Quick, get the balloon ready." Austin said as he entered the balloon.

"It doesn't matter where you go, I will get that orb!" Clavius said. "It is my destiny Prince Austin!"

"Sorry Clavius, but this orb will change Uniqua back into a princess." Austin replied coldly. "And then, I'll make sure it's destroyed forever."

The balloon took off, but Clavius wasn't gonna give up so easily. He grabbed onto the rope and climbed it. When he neared the basket he then grabbed Austin, trying to reach for the orb, but only succeeded in getting himself and the orb thrown off. Clavius landed on the platform, and tried to catch the orb, but he missed! Everyone in the balloon watched in horror as the orb headed straight toward the ground!

"NOOOOOOO!" Clavius screamed.

The orb broke apart and the magic inside it spread all over! The magic started to shoot sparks toward the balloon, but they just kept hitting the walls.

"Save yourself Uniqua, go!" Austin said.

"No Austin! I'm not leaving you." Uniqua argued.

"Go!"

Uniqua refused, and stayed inside the basket. Fortunately, the balloon left the mountain just before it exploded. Clavius was forever gone. Unfortunately, Tommy wasn't that much better off.

"Don't worry Uniqua, we'll find a way to change you back." Austin said. "There has to be a way."


	9. Everything is Put Right

When they got back to Swan Castle there was only one way Tasha could think of: the moon. Uniqua, holding onto Tommy the best she could, waited on Swan Lake for the moon to appear. Everyone else, including Tyrone, Horton, and Rudy, waited on the shore.

"The moon'll rise any minute Uniqua." Austin said, keeping an eye on the sky.

"Do you really think it'll change her back?" Morton asked Tasha.

"I don't know if it was the moonlight or if it was Rothbart's magic that changed her back before." Tasha admitted.

"Well, it's our only hope." Pablo said.

"For Tommy too." Morton added.

"It will work Uniqua." Austin said. "It has too." He whispered.

Jane then jabbed Horton slightly and pointed: the moon had started to rise. Everyone watched as the moon's reflection neared Uniqua and Tommy. Tyrone and Tasha even hugged each other, not being able to handle the suspension.

"Oh please oh please oh please." Rudy pleaded.

"Come on, come on." Austin said.

Nothing. Everyone hung their heads sadly. Uniqua shed a few tears, mostly for Tommy than for herself. But then, a glowing wave spun around Uniqua and Tommy! When it cleared Uniqua was back to her old self! And Tommy even woke up! Everyone cheered! Austin ran to Uniqua and spun her around and Tommy dazedly made his way back to shore.

"You saved us all Tommy!" Pablo laughed, hugging him. "You had no fea-*erk*."

Tommy had just grabbed Pablo by the beak.

"I'll rip your beak off if you say it again." Tommy threatened, pulling on Pablo's beak.

Pablo grinned sheepishly.

"You're a prince in my eyes." Morton hugged Tommy around his neck.

"I was a prince in everybody's eyes no?" Tommy replied.

No answer.

"Are you going to tell me you didn't see me as a prince?" Tommy was shocked.

"I think he still got some damage in the attic." Pablo tapped his head.

"I don't believe this!" Tommy was exasperated. "I was a prince!"

"Don't push your luck Tommy." Morton said.

"But...I don't..." Tommy protested; he then turned to Austin and Uniqua, who were kissing. "Hey you out there! Quit smooching and tell me something!"

Austin and Uniqua broke apart and looked at him.

"Did you or did you not see me as a prince in the mountain?" Tommy asked.

Austin and Uniqua laughed, thinking Tommy meant it metaphorically and so thought that it was stupid question. After all Tommy did save them. However Tommy didn't know that they thought he meant it metaphorically and so thought that they were laughing for a different reason.

"This isn't happening, it's a conspiracy!" Tommy protested. "I was a prince I tell you a prince!"

He was cut off by fireworks. Everyone looked and saw some of the fireworks forming words.

"'Happy Birthday Mother'!" Jane read the words happily; she then noticed people at the castle calling down birthday greetings. "Fifty and loving it!"

"That's right mom, when Horton and I returned to the castle we got the party set up." Rudy smiled. "Come on, let's party!"

Everyone made their way back to the castle and did.

The next day, Austin and Uniqua were on another picnic. But then, Horton appeared.

"Austin! Austin! Austin." Horton rushed over but slowed down before he could cause any damage.

"What is it Horton?" Austin asked.

"The king...the king of Lincolnshire has arrived." Horton explained, catching his breath.

"What?" Austin was surprised. "But, but he wasn't supposed to come until tomorrow."

"That's what I said." Horton shrugged. "And he told me: 'when you're the richest king in the world, you can arrive when you like'."

Austin thought it over.

"You take care of it Horton." He smiled.

"Me? He'll ask where you are, what do I say?" Horton said.

"Tell him I'm on a picnic with my wife." Austin smiled, going over to Uniqua.

They kissed.


End file.
